My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chen Dao beckoned, and his personal guards stepped forward and bound Cao Ren.

Cao Ren was terrified by Liu Bei's words, and a sense of foreboding washed over him.

He had a feeling that the best option for him right now was to die.

If he were escorted back to Liyang City, what awaited him would probably be a fate worse than death.

"You big-eared scoundrel, you hypocrite, why don't you kill me right now? I bet you don't have the guts!"

Cao Ren then launched into another tirade, attempting to provoke Liu Bei into a swift death.

Liu Bei remained unmoved and spurred his horse away.

Cao Ren could only roar in frustration, babbling incessantly like a wronged woman, until Chen Dao stuffed mud into his mouth, finally stopping him from cursing.

At dawn.

Liu Bei led his ambush army and advanced to the walls of Liyang.

At this time, while he was ambushing Cao Ren, Xiao He led the remaining army to occupy the deserted city of Liyang.

The Great Chu battle flag has already been raised on the north gate tower.

The moment Liu Bei rode through the city gate, Xiao He and his men had been waiting for a long time.

"Your Majesty, we congratulate you on recapturing Liyang and opening the gateway to Hebei in one fell swoop!"

Xiao He smiled and stepped forward, bowing with his hands clasped in greeting.

Lu Xun, Ma Su, and other officials stepped forward to offer their congratulations.

Looking at the devastated city of Liyang before him, Liu Bei was filled with mixed emotions.

This most important town on the north bank of the Yellow River, the gateway to Hebei, and the shield of Ye City, was finally captured by him.

The siege, which lasted for nearly six months, finally ended in a complete victory.

The battle took a long time, but the result was worthwhile.

With the recapture of Liyang, Cao Cao's meticulously constructed Yellow River defense line collapsed entirely, and the natural barrier of the Yellow River vanished without a trace.

Hebei is flat and the Yellow River is arguably Cao Cao's only reliable natural defense.

Without this barrier, how could Cao Cao possibly withstand his 300,000-strong army?
The journey to Ye City will be smooth sailing.

"My lords, let's enter the city!"

Liu Bei laughed loudly and pointed his whip forward.

Thus, the rulers and ministers of the Great Chu, full of vigor and high spirits, marched into Liyang in a grand procession.

The first thing to do upon entering the city was, naturally, to provide relief to the city's inhabitants.

An imperial edict was issued, and Chu soldiers delivered bundles of firewood and bags of grain to the homes of the people in the city.

These people, who were starving and terrified by Cao Ren's cruel methods, finally made it through the ordeal and saw the dawn break over Liyang.

Soon, smoke rose from chimneys throughout the city, and the people of Liyang, who had endured months of cold and hunger, were finally able to have a full meal.

The city was filled with the sounds of people weeping with joy.

The second matter was the disposal of the captured Wei generals.

In the main hall of the county government.

Liu Bei sat high on the throne and ordered all the prisoners, including Cao Ren and Cheng Wu, to be brought up.

After a while.

Cao Ren was the first to be dragged into the hall.

Upon seeing Liu Bei, Cao Ren became so excited that his eyes blazed with fury. He struggled desperately, wishing he could break free of his restraints and fight Liu Bei to the death.

"You traitorous Wei generals, how dare you not kneel before my King of Chu!"

Xiao He shouted sharply and winked at Chen Dao.

Chen Dao understood, stepped forward, and kicked Cao Ren hard in the stomach.

"Crack!"

With a muffled thud, Cao Ren's legs were instantly broken, and he involuntarily fell to his knees.

The excruciating pain from his broken leg was so intense that he grimaced and nearly fainted.

However, the humiliation of kneeling quickly replaced the excruciating pain of his broken leg, causing Cao Ren to become so angry that his face contorted and turned red.

"You big-eared scoundrel, you are supposed to be a regional lord, how can you be so petty as to resort to such despicable means to humiliate me?"

Cao Ren attempted to use provocation to force Liu Bei to treat him with courtesy.

Before Liu Bei could speak, Xiao He scoffed disdainfully:
"My king's magnanimity extends to humans, not to beasts like you!"

"Cao Ren, a man like you is only fit to kneel and repent for your crimes before our King of Chu!"

Cao Ren was rendered speechless by the rebuttal, and his shocked and indignant gaze shot towards Xiao He.

Suddenly, he shuddered violently, realizing the scholar's identity.

It must be Xiao He without a doubt!

He was Liu Bei's chief strategist, that extraordinary strategist, that military genius whose tactics were like those of a ghost or a god, a god of war reborn...

This is the person who supported Liu Bei behind the scenes, using a series of treacherous schemes to force the Cao family to such a state!

Today, he was ambushed by Liu Bei from two directions, resulting in the annihilation of his entire army and his capture alone. This humiliating situation was probably also due to Liu Bei's scheme.

And this person was still standing here high and mighty, breaking his leg and forcing him to kneel before Liu Bei!
Cao Ren was consumed by raging anger, which consumed his entire body in an instant!

"You scoundrel Xiao, you fiend, I'm going to kill you!"

Losing control of his emotions, Cao Ren screamed hysterically like a madman and lunged at Xiao He without regard for anything.

He forgot that Chen Dao had broken both his legs, leaving him unable to stand and causing him to fall to the ground.

"boom!"

His face slammed heavily onto the ground, causing his mouth and nose to bleed; he looked utterly disheveled.

The generals of Chu on either side burst into laughter upon seeing Cao Ren's disgraceful appearance.

At that moment, footsteps sounded, and another prisoner was brought up.

It was Cheng Wu.

Upon seeing Cao Ren kneeling on the ground, covered in blood and with a bruised and swollen face, Cheng Wu, whose face was already pale, couldn't help but shudder, and a deep fear welled up in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, I, the guilty subject Cheng Wu, pay my respects..."

Before Liu Bei could speak, Cheng Wu knelt down on his own initiative. He referred to himself as a "criminal subject" and addressed Liu Bei as "Your Majesty!"

This servile and obsequious behavior clearly shows that he has lost the courage to die for the Wei Kingdom and has chosen to submit to Liu Bei in order to save his life.

Cao Ren flew into a rage and angrily cursed:

"Cheng Wu, you cowardly, disloyal, and treacherous bastard!"

"Your father was a loyal minister of the Great Wei, who died for our Great Wei. As the son of a loyal minister, how can you betray your country and surrender to the enemy!"

"Stand up! Stand up right now!"

Faced with Cao Ren's rebuke, a hint of shame flashed in Cheng Wu's eyes.

However, it only happened in a flash.

Immediately afterwards, Cheng Wu declared with righteous indignation:
“My father was blind and did not recognize a wise ruler. He also committed heinous acts that offended Heaven and the people. He deserved to die, but he did not die for the country of Wei.”

"Given my father's tragic example, how can I, Cheng Wu, repeat his mistakes? How can I be buried with such a cruel ruler as the King of Wei?"

"Now that I have been captured, I should obey the will of Heaven and the hearts of the people, and submit to the benevolent ruler of the time, the King of Chu, in order to atone for the crimes my father committed and restore the reputation of my Cheng clan!"

After a righteous and impassioned explanation, Cheng Wu bowed again to Liu Bei:

"Your Majesty, please grant me a chance to redeem myself for my father's sins. I will gladly go through fire and water for Your Majesty, even unto death!"

Cao Ren was confused.

He clearly hadn't expected Cheng Wu to be so shameless.

Upon learning of Cheng Yu's death, this fellow was filled with grief and indignation, repeatedly clamoring to kill Liu Bei, destroy the Chu Kingdom, and avenge Cheng Yu.

Liyang was besieged for six months, and Cheng Wu went to great lengths to help him defend the city, even going so far as to offer the same treacherous scheme that Cheng Yu had devised years before.

But now that he's been captured, this guy's face changes faster than turning the pages of a book. He betrayed Wei so cleanly and decisively, and knelt before Liu Bei so readily!
They even openly slandered Cao Cao, their former master, as a "tyrannical ruler!"

Cao Ren was utterly shocked, unable to believe that such a shameless person existed in the world.

He was stunned for a long time.

Cao Ren suddenly came to his senses, angrily propped himself up, and rammed into Cheng Wu.

Cheng Wu, kneeling to the side, never expected that Cao Ren, whose legs were broken, could still make such a move.

Caught off guard, Cao Ren's head slammed heavily into his face.

"boom!"

Cheng Wu was knocked to the ground, his nose was broken, and blood gushed out.

"You disloyal, unjust, shameless traitor, I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

Cao Ren roared and cursed, his hands bound, yet he tried to bite Cheng Wu's neck with his teeth.

Cheng Wu, who had fallen to the ground, was so frightened that he staggered backward and instinctively kicked out.

Cao Ren was kicked in the face and fell to the ground.

Ignoring the excruciating pain, he continued to pounce on Chen Wu like a mad dog, cursing and swearing.

The two then began to wrestle and bite each other in front of the hall.

Liu Bei did not stop them, but just watched coldly as the two vicious dogs of the Cao family fought each other.

"Bowen, what should I do with these two vicious dogs?"

Liu Bei turned his gaze to Xiao He for his opinion.

Xiao He's eyes flashed with a cold light, and without hesitation, he said:
"That insidious scheme to devour the people must have been devised by Cheng Wu. How can such a vicious person be allowed to live?"

"I believe this traitor should be executed immediately!"

As for that scoundrel Cao Ren…

Xiao He abruptly changed the subject, saying coldly:
“This traitor is a false Wei general and Cao Cao’s brother. He is a traitor to the Han Dynasty and should be executed.”

"But this thief committed such inhumane acts against the people of Liyang. Executing him would be too lenient."

"I suspect that the people of Liyang are so eager to eat his flesh that Your Majesty could go along with it, tie him to a carriage, parade him through the streets of Liyang, and let the people of Liyang do as they please."

"In this way, we can both execute this traitor and vent the grievances of the people of Liyang, thereby winning their hearts and minds."

Hearing Xiao He's proposed solution, Liu Bei was very satisfied and waved his hand dismissively.

"Uncle, quickly drag this traitor Cheng Wu out and behead him as a warning to the world."

"Bo Dao, you are to drag this scoundrel Cao Ren out and parade him through the streets, so that the people of Liyang may take his life."

Knowing that Hao Zhao had a blood feud with Cao Cao's brothers, Liu Bei readily gave the task of executing Cao Ren to Hao Zhao.

Upon receiving the order, Chen Dao immediately commanded his guards to split up and drag Cheng Wu outside the prefectural government office to be beheaded. His head was then displayed at the north gate.

Hao Zhao was overjoyed. He personally dragged Cao Ren out, tied him to a carriage, and immediately paraded him through the streets for the people of Liyang to execute.

Cheng Wu was terrified and, forgetting his fight with Cao Ren, hurriedly kowtowed and begged:

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger and spare my life. I was forced to offer this plan by Cao Ren."

"Your Majesty, I know my crime. Please, have mercy on me!"

The guards remained unmoved, lifted Cheng Wu up, and dragged him away like a dead dog.

When Cao Ren heard that Liu Bei intended to parade him through the streets and have the people torture him to death, he was naturally extremely shocked and indignant.

How could a great general of the Cao family, a member of the Cao Wei clan, be subjected to such humiliation in the streets and even beaten to death by a commoner?
What a shame!

"You big-eared scoundrel, you treacherous Xiao, you two despicable and shameless masters and ministers, if you have the guts, give me a quick death! How dare you humiliate me like this—"

Cao Ren launched into another hysterical tirade.

Liu Bei coldly waved his hand.

Hao Zhao then dragged Cao Ren out of the prefectural government office, tied him to a wooden stake, and put him in a horse-drawn carriage, pulling him onto the main street.

The people of Liyang, having eaten their fill, heard the sound of gongs and drums and learned that Cao Ren was being paraded through the streets. Immediately, the entire city turned out.

When they saw Cao Ren being paraded through the streets bound, their grief, resentment, and anger erupted like a volcano.

"Cao Ren, you devil! Give me back my son!"

"You beast, you beast! I'll beat you to death!"

"I'm going to kill you! I'm going to avenge my wife and children!"

The enraged people picked up stones from the ground and hurled them at Cao Ren from all directions. (End of Chapter)